Opening hours

Regular opening hours
DayMain and Petherick Reading RoomsNewspapers and Microforms Reading RoomsOther Reading Rooms - Asian Collections, Maps, Pictures and ManuscriptsTreasures Gallery and Exhibitions Gallerybookplate caféBookshop
Monday to Thursday9:00am - 9:00pm9:00am - 5:00pm9:00am - 5:00pm10:00am - 5:00pm8:30am - 5:00pm9:00am - 5:00pm
Friday9:00am - 5:00pm9:00am - 5:00pm9:00am - 5:00pm10:00am - 5:00pm8:30am - 4:00pm9:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday9:00am - 5:00pm9:00am - 5:00pmClosed10:00am - 5:00pm10:00am - 3:00pm9:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday1:30pm - 5:00pm
No collection deliveries or access to special collection material on Sunday.
ClosedClosed10:00am - 5:00pm10:00am - 3:00pm9:00am - 5:00pm

Book delivery to Main and Petherick Reading Rooms

  • 9.00am - 4.45pm when reading rooms close at 7.00pm
  • 9.00am - 3.45pm when reading rooms close at 5.00pm
  • No book delivery service from offsite store on Saturdays
  • No Book Delivery service on Sundays

All reading rooms in the Library are open Monday to Friday at the times detailed below. The Main, Petherick, Newspapers and Microforms Reading Rooms are also open on weekends and most public holidays. Other public areas of the Library including the Treasures Gallery, the Exhibition Gallery, Bookshop and bookplate café are also open Monday to Friday, on weekends and public holidays.

We operate closed book stacks and this means readers can't browse the Library shelves to retrieve material. Instead, readers use the Catalogue to find and order what they need from our collections. That material is then delivered to the relevant reading room within the time frames given in our Collection Delivery Service schedule.

Public holiday opening hours

The Library building is closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day. Other public holiday opening times are outlined below:

Reading rooms

The Main, Petherick and Newspapers and Microforms Reading Rooms are open from 9.00am - 5.00pm on all public holidays except Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day.

The Pictures, Manuscripts, Maps and Asian Collections Reading Rooms are closed on all public holidays.

Collection delivery service

On public holidays, the collection delivery service to the Main and Petherick Reading Rooms operates between 9.00am and 3.45pm. The Newspapers and Microforms Reading Room service operates between 9.00am and 4.30pm.

Foyer, bookshop and cafés

The Bookshop and Foyer are closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day. On all other public holidays the Bookshop and Foyer are open from 9.00am–5.00pm.

The bookplate café is closed on Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Galleries

The Treasures Gallery and the Exhibition Gallery are closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day. On all other public holidays the Galleries are open from 10.00am–5.00pm.

2013 Public holidays

  • Tuesday 1 January 2013 - New Years Day
  • Monday 28 January 2013 - Australia Day (substitute for Saturday 26 January)
  • Monday 11 March 2013 - Canberra Day
  • Friday 29 March 2013 - Good Friday
  • Saturday 30 March 2013 - Easter Saturday
  • Monday 1 April 2013 - Easter Monday
  • Thursday 25 April 2013 - Anzac Day
  • Monday 10 June 2013 - Queen's Birthday
  • Monday 30 September 2013 - Family & Community Day
  • Monday 7 October 2013 - Labour Day
  • Wednesday 25 December 2013 - Christmas Day
  • Thursday 26 December 2013 - Boxing Day
  • Friday 27 December 2013 - Additional National Library of Australia Holiday
  • Monday 30 December 2013 - NLA Christmas Close Down Day
  • Tuesday 31 December  2013 - NLA Christmas Close Down Day